Rethinking Race and Power in Design-Based Research: Reflections from the Field

Item

Title

Rethinking Race and Power in Design-Based Research: Reflections from the Field

Abstract/Description

Participatory design-based research continues to expand and challenge the “researcher” and “researched” paradigm by incorporating teachers, administrators, community members, and youth throughout the research process. Yet, greater clarity is needed about the racial and political dimensions of these collaborative research projects. In this article, we focus on how race and power mediate relationships between researchers and communities in ways that significantly shape the process of research. Using the notion of politicized trust as a conceptual lens, we reflect on two distinct participatory design projects to explore how political and racial solidarity was established, contested, and negotiated throughout the course of the design process. Ultimately, this article argues that making visible how race and power mediate relationships in design research is critical for engaging in ethical and sociopolitically conscious relationships with community partners and developing theoretical and practical knowledge about the repertoires of practice, tasks, and sociocultural competencies demanded of university researchers.

Author/creator

Vakil, Sepehr

McKinney de Royston, Maxine

Suad Nasir, Na'ilah

Kirshner, Ben

Date

July 2, 2016

In publication

Cognition and Instruction

Volume

34

Issue

3

Pages

194-209

Resource type

en Research/Scholarly Media

Resource status/form

en Published Text

Scholarship genre

en Methodological

en Empirical

IRE Approach/Concept

Design-Based Research

Participatory Design Research (PDR)

Politicized Trust

University–Community Partnership

Featured case/project

Tracing Transitions Study at Jefferson High School

Manhood Development Program (MDP)

Open access/full-text available

en Yes

Peer reviewed

en Yes

ISSN

0737-0008

DOI

10.1080/07370008.2016.1169817

URL

Publisher Webpage

Open Access PDF (via Northwestern University Website)

Citation

Vakil, S., McKinney de Royston, M., Suad Nasir, N., & Kirshner, B. (2016). Rethinking Race and Power in Design-Based Research: Reflections from the Field. Cognition and Instruction, 34(3), 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2016.1169817

Cited in

Introducing Improvement Research in Education

The Work of Improvement

Critical Perspectives on Educational Innovation and Improvement Science

Item sets

Open Access Resource (IRE)

IRE Handbook Introduction Citation

OB Citations - Critical Perspectives on Educational Innovation and Improvement Science

Ob Citations - Research–Practice Partnerships in Education Within the United States

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